The optimization of fluid flow over an aircraft is an important task typically undertaken by aeronautical engineers during the development and testing phases involved in bringing an aircraft to market. Balancing the air flow over the aircraft reduces drag encountered by aircraft during flight, which reduces fuel consumption of the aircraft across a range of flight speeds of the aircraft, thereby increasing the range of the aircraft for a specific fuel capacity. A reduction in drag encountered by the aircraft during flight also permits attainment of greater in flight speeds of the aircraft. In either case, the ratio of fuel consumption to airspeed decreases with the reduction of drag.
Most commercial and private aircraft in service today were developed during times of “cheap” fuel, when the focus of development teams were predominantly devoted to the maximization of passenger payload the aircraft could carry, and the ease of manufacturing the airframe. Recently, aircraft engine development teams have been developing higher efficiency, cleaner burning engines, which improve the overall energy efficiency of aircraft, and airframe development teams have been working on reducing drag encountered by the wings. However, a source of drag that remains for the vast majority of in-service transonic, i.e., flight speed greater than Mach 0.7 aircraft is drag encountered by the aircraft during flight as a result of air flowing over the front windshield, and abruptly encountering the main body portion of the fuselage.
Accordingly, there is a long felt need for methods and apparatus for reducing the effects of windshield induced drag, and improving the fuel range for an aircraft operating within the operating limits prescribed for the aircraft.